Consumer minimalism in local food consumption: The impact of pro-environmental self-identity and locavorism

Abstract

Concerns with global climate change and interest in finding solutions for environmental issues have prompted consumer interest in consuming local food. As a sustainable lifestyle, consumer minimalism has attracted much attention from various research domains. However, in the local food consumption context, research on the antecedents and the impact of consumer minimalism on consumer behaviour remains overlooked. The present research studies the influence of consumer pro-environmental self-identity, consumer minimalism and locavorism on consumers' willingness to purchase local foods. We conducted two online surveys in China. We used PLS-SEM for data analysis. The results of the structural model evaluation show that there is a significant positive relationship between pro-environmental self-identity and consumers' willingness to purchase local foods. This relationship is partly mediated by consumer minimalism and locavorism. Findings of this research advance the theoretical understanding on preferences for local food and minimalistic consumption. The paper also provides practical insights into local food marketing for practitioners.